Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name (usually not your first and last name), your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Additional Options

Miscellaneous Options

Automatically parse links in text

Automatically embed media (requires automatic parsing of links in text to be on).

Automatically retrieve titles from external links

Topic Review (Newest First)

05-01-2011 06:23 PM

Henry the 32nd

Allen Machine ???

05-01-2011 05:39 PM

sqzbox

Quote:

Originally Posted by bentwings

The guy didn't know how to run it or anything about it but wouldn't part with it....it would be worth something some day was his comment.....another guy with 'hoarder disease'.

Well put. better that than a yard full of rusty classics.

05-01-2011 10:52 AM

bentwings

My first experience with ignitions goes back to the mid 50's and I don't remember anything other than the Sun machine shown above. There were newer versions in the early 60's that I used in the hotrod shop. We even had one that could run magnetos...it was converted from a standard machine. The later ones could run up to about 8000 engine rpm.

We did use an oscilloscope in the 60's which was quite advanced for the time. A real PIA to use for everyday tune up however. It was great for finding that nasty ignition problem that defied reason however.

There were other fancy and exspensive tune up machines that really were a lot of hocus pocus things.

As noted above the dwel/tach was cheap and everyone had them.

Last summer on one of our cruises we saw a vintage Sun Machine sitting in a corner. The guy didn't know how to run it or anything about it but wouldn't part with it....it would be worth something some day was his comment.....another guy with 'hoarder disease'.

04-30-2011 12:37 AM

Dave57210

Dwell meters?

I don't think dwell meters ever were useful for setting up timing curves. They provided a much more accurate "dwell" (how long the points stayed closed) than setting by feeler gauge, but no real impact on timing curves.

As to dwell meters - EVERYBODY made 'em - usually in a dwell/tach handheld unit from Sears, Sun, Aquus, S-W, etc, etc. Prices used to range from about $19.00 to around a hundred or so.

The advent of breakerless ignitions consigned dwell tachs to the curiousity bin.

(one reason Chev -and GM in general - engines were more popular than FoMoCo, MoPar etc was because you could tune them easier by using a dwell tach on it while running) Ford & Mopar required you to shut it off, open the dizzy, reset the gap, start it up again and take another dwell reading. The GMs had that little window on the side of the cap that you stuck an Allen key into and adjusted to get the exact dwell while running.

However, the original poster was asking about "setting up timing curves", and a dwell tach won't do that.

Maybe an Oscilloscope?

04-29-2011 10:46 PM

cjperotti

They were called dwell meters. They were quite common and few still are in service.

04-29-2011 05:01 PM

sqzbox

Quote:

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

My brother has one that looks like this and re-curves distirbutors as one of this services. He does it by mail if you want to contact him PM me.

He has had a few over the years and they usually don't cost a whole lot because people don't know what they are used for!

Brian

Do what I do. Go down to the local tech college automotive shop and make friends with one of the students or talk to the instructor. They should have one you might be able to use. I've done it before. Those machines are great in the fact that you can set up and make changes without having to blow out a bunch of gas at the track and much more accurate than a dial back timing light. if I could find one cheap, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

04-29-2011 04:48 PM

willowbilly3

All the ones I have used were Sun. If one comes up for sale, they are usually dirt cheap.

04-29-2011 04:41 PM

speedbump

Allen made a machine that was a no frills machine like the Sun and they called it a Syncrograph I believe. Is that what you were referring to?

04-29-2011 03:32 PM

MARTINSR

My brother has one that looks like this and re-curves distirbutors as one of this services. He does it by mail if you want to contact him PM me.

He has had a few over the years and they usually don't cost a whole lot because people don't know what they are used for!

Brian

04-29-2011 03:18 PM

oldschool hero

Thats a later type but I'm looking for the earlier one.Thats more $$ than I want to sink in one just to play with.

04-29-2011 03:03 PM

poncho62

I thought they were just called distributor machines....Stewart Warner, Sun, etc

At one time years ago, even before the Sun machines, a device was used for setting up timing curves on distributors.I just can't for the life of me remember what it was called or who made it.I would like to get my hands on one just to do some experimenting.
Anyone remember this thing?